91 research outputs found
Structural study on hole-doped superconductors Pr1-xSrxFeAsO
The structural details in Pr1-xSrxFeAsO (1111) superconducting system are
analyzed using data obtained from synchrotron X-ray diffraction and the
structural parameters are carefully studied as the system is moving from
non-superconducting to hole-doped superconducting with the Sr concentration.
Superconductivity emerges when the Sr doping amount reaches 0.221. The linear
increase of the lattice constants proves that Sr is successfully introduced
into the system and its concentration can accurately be determined by the
electron density analyses. The evolution of structural parameters with Sr
concentration in Pr1-xSrxFeAsO and their comparison to other similar structural
parameters of the related Fe-based superconductors suggest that the interlayer
space between the conducting As-Fe-As layer and the insulating Pr-O-Pr layer is
important for improving Tc in the hole-doped (1111) superconductors, which
seems to be different from electron-doped systems.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Effect of the tetrahedral distortion on the electronic properties of iron-pnictides
We study the dependence of the electronic structure of iron pnictides on the
angle formed by the arsenic-iron bonds. Within a Slater-Koster tight binding
model which captures the correct symmetry properties of the bands, we show that
the density of states and the band structure are sensitive to the distortion of
the tetrahedral environment of the iron atoms. This sensitivity is extremely
strong in a two-orbital (d_xz, d_yz) model due to the formation of a flat band
around the Fermi level. Inclusion of the d_xy orbital destroys the flat band
while keeping a considerable angle dependence in the band structure.Comment: 5 pages, including 5 figures. Fig. 5 replaced. Minor changes in the
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SUMO-mediated regulation of NLRP3 modulates inflammasome activity.
The NLRP3 inflammasome responds to infection and tissue damage, and rapidly escalates the intensity of inflammation by activating interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18 and cell death by pyroptosis. How the NLRP3 inflammasome is negatively regulated is poorly understood. Here we show that NLRP3 inflammasome activation is suppressed by sumoylation. NLRP3 is sumoylated by the SUMO E3-ligase MAPL, and stimulation-dependent NLRP3 desumoylation by the SUMO-specific proteases SENP6 and SENP7 promotes NLRP3 activation. Defective NLRP3 sumoylation, either by NLRP3 mutation of SUMO acceptor lysines or depletion of MAPL, results in enhanced caspase-1 activation and IL-1β release. Conversely, depletion of SENP7 suppresses NLRP3-dependent ASC oligomerisation, caspase-1 activation and IL-1β release. These data indicate that sumoylation of NLRP3 restrains inflammasome activation, and identify SUMO proteases as potential drug targets for the treatment of inflammatory diseases
Crystal growth and superconductivity of FeSe_x
Single crystals FeSe_x have been grown in evacuated sealed quartz tube using
a NaCl/KCl flux. The products include two crystal structures of tetragon and
hexagon. The electronic transport and magnetic properties measurements of
FeSe_x single crystal exhibits a superconducting transition at about 10K.Comment: 9 pages, 4 Figure
Super-silent FRET Sensor Enables Live Cell Imaging and Flow Cytometric Stratification of Intracellular Serine Protease Activity in Neutrophils
Abstract Serine proteases are released by neutrophils to act primarily as antimicrobial proteins but excessive and unbalanced serine protease activity results in serious host tissue damage. Here the synthesis of a novel chemical sensor based on a multi-branched fluorescence quencher is reported. It is super-silent, exhibiting no fluorescence until de-quenched by the exemplar serine protease human neutrophil elastase, rapidly enters human neutrophils, and is inhibited by serine protease inhibitors. This sensor allows live imaging of intracellular serine protease activity within human neutrophils and demonstrates that the unique combination of a multivalent scaffold combined with a FRET peptide represents a novel and efficient strategy to generate super-silent sensors that permit the visualisation of intracellular proteases and may enable point of care whole blood profiling of neutrophils
Dermatitis herpetiformis: pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment
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